I would like to respond to the opinion piece by Fr. Ron Rolheiser which appeared in the July 16, 2026, edition of the Superior Catholic Herald. Titled “The ‘narrow gate’ to a fulfilling life,” the article disturbingly waters down one of Jesus’ most stark and clear-cut warnings.
Fr. Rolheiser’s essay focuses on Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Fr. Rolheiser asserts that the narrow way Jesus spoke of was not the road to eternal life, but rather the path to living a happy and fulfilling life here on earth. He sums up the common interpretation of these verses by saying, “On the surface, this would seem to indicate that most people are not taking the road that leads to heaven but are taking the road that leads to hell.” But then he asks, “Is this what’s implied here? No! That’s not what’s being taught. This teaching of Jesus needs some parsing.”
Surprisingly, Fr. Rolheiser does not then actually parse (i.e., critically analyze) the passage itself. To do so, however, would lead to a very different conclusion than his. Jesus declares that the wide gate and broad road lead to “destruction.” Other translations of that Greek term, apoleian, include damnation, perdition, eternal ruin, and hell. These destinies are all in radical opposition to eternal life, and not to a merely happy mortal life. Fr. Rolheiser suggests Jesus is contrasting damnation with a fulfilling life here on earth, but the plain sense of the passage is clearly a contrast between damnation and eternal life.
Although his opinion is unorthodox, Fr. Rolheiser provides no Scriptural or doctrinal authority to support his thesis. In contrast to his approach, there are two critical tenets for the constructive interpretation of Scripture: 1) to read Scripture with the church, and 2) to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. The former ensures that our understanding of Scripture is informed by sacred tradition handed down from the apostles; the latter ensures that we don’t take a verse out of context and try to understand it in a vacuum.
Regarding the first, we should ask, “How does the church interpret this verse?” In the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” the section on hell includes CCC 1036, which reads, “The affirmation of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject of hell are a call to responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent call to conversion.” Next, CCC 1036 directly quotes Mt 7:13-14 about the narrow way before concluding with an extensive quotation from Lumen Gentium 48 which exhorts us to be ready for the Lord’s return so that we won’t be “ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where men will ‘weep and gnash their teeth.’” Given that the Catechism explicitly uses Mt 7:13-14 to describe the eternal consequences of misusing our freedom, Fr. Rolheiser’s opinion about the passage is at odds with the church’s magisterial teaching.
Allowing “Scripture to interpret Scripture” also clarifies Jesus’ meaning in this passage. First, after the Golden Rule (Mt 7:12) summarizes the Sermon on the Mount up to that point, Mt 7:13-14 introduces the very different concluding section of the sermon which focuses on judgment and eternal destiny. After the passage about the narrow gate, the rest of Matthew 7 sequentially address the dangers posed by false prophets who will be “cut down and thrown in the fire,” the damnation of those who cry “Lord, Lord,” but fail to do the Father’s will, and the final destruction and ruin of those who fail to put Jesus’ words into practice. Within this context, it is apparent that the passage of the narrow gate has nothing to do with the quest for happiness in this life. Rather, it focuses on the contrast between damnation and eternal happiness. This contrast between the narrow way and the broad way is echoed in the subsequent verses by the good and bad fruit, and the act of building on rock vs. building on sand.
We can also check to see how Luke shares his version of the narrow gate. In Luke 13:23 ff, Jesus is asked, “Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?” Jesus replies, “Try to come in through the narrow door. Many, I tell you, will try to enter and be unable.” He then mirrors Matthew’s verses about the Master locking the door and not recognizing those who claim to know him, relegating them to the darkness where there is “wailing and grinding of teeth.” So, within the context of both Matthew and Luke’s Gospels, the destiny to be sought via the narrow gate or door is eternal life, rather than “happiness and full life here on earth.”
Finally, human life itself demonstrates that Fr. Rolheiser’s assumptions are unjustified. Specifically, failing to follow Jesus simply does not necessarily lead to an unhappy temporal life. We all know blithely happy sinners. Conversely, following God’s will with compassion and commitment does not necessarily lead to a happy and fulfilling life here on earth. In both history and our own lives, we know of sorrowful saints. Jesus himself is the exemplar of this. Following his Father’s will along the narrow way led to his brutal death which was, humanly speaking, a painful and even disastrous end to his mortal life. Fulfilling his Father’s will, however, led to vindication, glory and fulfillment through and after his death on the cross. Just so, Jesus does not assure us of happiness and fulfillment in this life if we follow the narrow way. Rather, we are called to fidelity in this life so as to enjoy eternal happiness and fulfillment in the next.
Dcn Brian J. McCaffery serves the parishes of St. Joseph, Hayward, and St.
Dcn. Brian J. McCaffery
